Ever since we decided to go to India, I’ve developed all possible fears about visiting the place. Apparently I’m really really good at developing fears. I was mostly concerned about being in a situation where I was stuck in a confined place full of people with no air and no way out. Mostly in my head, that would have been trains, train stations and buses but also streets… so pretty much everywhere. Suffocation. These preconceived ideas came mostly from pictures I’ve seen online and on TV. I mean, Google for Indian train.

The other thing I discovered is that anyone who’s been to India has strong opinions about it. I heard all sorts of things before going there like:

“It’s awesome!”
“I hated it.”
“You’ll get sick.”
“It’s intense!”
“It’s chaos!”
“You’re constantly hassled.”
“You’ll get sick for sure.”
“The best and worst moments I spent traveling were in India and happened on the same day.”
“You can’t be in a hurry.”
“It’s too hot in X, don’t go there.”
“You have to go to Varanasi, you must go to Rishikesh, Hampi is so nice, Mumbai is great, Goa, Shimla, Amritsar, Jaisalmer, Agra, Dharamshala, Pondicherry, Jaipur, Mount Abu, Kerala, oh and Mysore for yoga galore.” (If you look at a map, these places are scattered all over India.)
“The food is great but you’ll definitely get sick.”
“It’s very dirty.”
“Don’t look at men in the eye.”
“You’re a walking ATM.”
“It’s an assault to all senses.”
“Trains are awesome.”
“Trains are awful.”
“Buses are the way to go.”
“Buses are horrible.”
“Planes are so convenient.”
“Traveling on land is the only way to do it.”

Out of what everyone told me, the only thing that turned out to be 100% true was that India was a sensory overload. That was in fact the most rewarding aspect of visiting India, way beyond any Taj Mahal, forts or palaces one might see. Your eyeballs are constantly fed with incredible sights, your ears are overloaded with honking and loogie hacking, your skin feels the dust and the heat, your nose smells the spices, the flowers and also the manure and piss, finally your taste buds are treated with all the complex and rich flavors of Indian cuisine. I’d also add that your 6th sense takes a hit: being constantly alert, making split-second decisions, dodging things all the time, exercising patience with the surroundings, all while trying to maintain a sense of composure.

What I found the most challenging was the noise. The incessant honking. It’s the honking that got to me in Hanoi, it’s the honking that got to me in India. Since I knew I would have to deal with it for several weeks, I trained myself to wear earplugs whenever I needed them, which was pretty much anytime we were outside our hotel room. It might sound a bit excessive but I would even walk in the streets with earplugs and it worked! I could have titled this post: “The secret to surviving India: earplugs”.

Even if I’m painting this a little dark, our time in India was extremely freeing for me. I had an enormous buildup of anxiety about the place, more than any other country we’ve visited. But our journey offered up one fear at a time and let me conquer each in turn. Oh look, we haven’t made any reservations whatsoever. I’m ok. Oh look, we’re in a busy train station. I’m ok. Oh look, we’re on a sleeper train. I’m ok. Oh look, it’s over 40°C out. I’m ok. Oh look, we’re eating Indian food at every meal. I’m ok. Oh look, our taxi dropped us off at the wrong spot in the middle of Kolkata at night. I’M O.K.!

On the upper bunk of an AC2 sleeper train (Kolkata to Varanasi)
Turns out I have overcome all of my fears, including a 6hr non-AC, non-assigned hard seat train ride, being the only white peeps, shaking a million hands, talking broken English the whole time, enduring temperatures of 45°C (113°F) and breathing in the desert dust. I didn’t love it, but I survived it (unlike poor Justin). Oh and what about the (again, non-AC) bus ride down Mount Abu where people were hanging their heads out the window to puke their guts out the whole way? That was a fun one too. I had my window tightly sealed, despite the blazing heat, to avoid any windblown remnants of Indian breakfasts. Could I do it again if I needed to? Hmm, I suppose, perhaps, maybe, sure. Would I do it again if I had a choice? Uh nope. But at least I got through these things patiently without panicking.

That said, we also had fantastic experiences.

The food was delicious.Vegetarian Thali (Varanasi)

I got an insanely beautiful henna tattoo on both my lower legs and feet (makes me wonder about making that a real one…)The sweet artist and I, showing off the still-wet henna. It later turned brown. Gorgeous! (Udaipur)

We felt fully immersed in the culture of India and witnessed the full spectrum of human activity.A street filled with kids getting out of school (Udaipur)

Daily laundry at the ghat (Udaipur)

A pedicab driver’s nap (Agra)

Sharing the street with holy cows (Udaipur)

I learned how to paint a miniature elephant Rajasthani style (more on that later).The final result of 4-5 hours of painting with a master (Udaipur)

We stayed in a stunning hotel room overlooking a beautiful lake.The view at sunset from out bedroom (Udaipur)

After 4.5 weeks, we’d had our fill and were ready to move on. However, India definitely holds a spot among the highly indelible places we’ve visited and perhaps would like to go back to. Who knows, our visas are good for 5 years.

5 Comments

Hey Steph,
Enjoyed reading your post on India. I’ve been on the fence about going there because I too get anxiety sometimes when I’m in crowded spaces, or generally in situations where I feel trapped. It’s good to hear that you faced your fears and got a real sense of the country. Your pictures are so colorful! Where to next? Am inspired to hit the road once again. It’s been way too long since I’ve thrown on my backpack and just went where the road led the way.

Great post, love the pictures especially your tattoo. It seems you had a wonderful time and I can imagine if you go back and stay longer you enjoy it more after getting used to the chaos. Take care. xoxo.

Steph – yep, you and I are really similar. I can tell you that if you approach things with a “we don’t have to do this” attitude, most of the time you end up being able to do it. I think what saved me in India was the fact that we didn’t make any reservations. I felt like we could make decisions that would feel comfortable on the spot rather than having to stick to an itinerary and most of transport that would make me feel stuck. Anyways, India ain’t easy every day but I think it’s really worth visiting! It’s definitely memorable.

Visda – Thank you! I’m in love with that tattoo. Unfortunately it’s already gone :( You’re right, now knowing what to expect in India would make it easier to go back. I really really want to visit the mountains there. We shall see what the future holds.

06.05.12

Amy Jackson

Nice Post.

I love the way you have posted your journey. ;-) and one thing which i like the most is the tattoo. u are looking owsome with the tattoo.
I am also planning to visit the india and this will help me.

but i have a question can u please tell me In which year and month you have visited the india ?

Thanks Amy – we went last year in April. It was the beginning of the hot season, so we avoided the desert and instead went to a hill station to cool off. I highly recommend Udaipur in Rajasthan. That’s where I got the tatto (although you can get one pretty much anywhere) and it’s a beautiful little town. Hope you enjoy!